The data on regional unemployment, compiled on the basis of the Community Labour Force Survey, are comparable between the regions of the EU and the CECC. They are taken from two reports3 published today by Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities in Luxembourg.

Unemployment double the EU average in 40% of the regions of the CECC
Of the 209 NUTS 2 regions of the EU observed in April 2001, 53 (nearly one third of which were in the United Kingdom), had a rate of 3.8% or less, i.e. half the average for the EU. Only Greece, Spain and France had no region with a rate equal to or less than half the EU average. Denmark, which comprises a single unit, was in the same position. At the other extreme, 16 regions had a rate of 15.2% or higher, i.e. double that of the EU: 5 were in Italy, 4 in France (all Overseas Departments), 3 in Germany and Spain, and 1 in Greece.